An 80-year-old woman in Taichung, Taiwan, ended up with a painful infection on her buttock that swelled to the size of a baseball after she tried to drain a boil herself using a sewing needle heated over a flame.
The elderly woman, who lives alone while her children reside elsewhere, initially thought the painful lump was an ordinary boil.
Recalling a method often seen in period dramas, she heated a sewing needle over a flame in an attempt to disinfect it before using it to puncture the pus-filled lump and squeeze out the contents.
Instead, the infection worsened.
By the time she sought medical attention, the affected area had swollen dramatically and was reportedly about the size of a baseball. The pain was so severe that she struggled to sit down.
Colorectal surgeon Tseng Yu-kang, who practises at Lee General Hospital in Taichung, said doctors performed a wound-cleaning procedure that took nearly an hour to remove the infected and pus-filled tissue.
Tseng warned that using a needle to puncture a boil carries significant risks.
What may initially be a superficial follicle infection or localised infection can become more serious when a needle is used to forcefully puncture the area, potentially pushing bacteria deeper into surrounding tissue.
He compared the body’s fascia to a “highway” for bacteria, explaining that an infection spreading through loose tissue beneath the skin can lead to blood vessel blockages and tissue death.
If left untreated, severe infections could potentially progress to life-threatening sepsis, he warned.
Tseng said infections around the anal area are often caused by infections of glands inside the anus, while some originate from infections on the surface of the skin.
Prolonged pressure on the buttocks, combined with poor ventilation, sweating and moisture, can also create conditions that allow bacteria to multiply.
When bacteria enter through hair follicles or tiny breaks in the skin, they can develop into boils.
Tseng advised against squeezing an immature boil or attempting to puncture it with needles or other tools, as doing so could cause the infection to spread to surrounding tissue and potentially lead to cellulitis.
He urged the public not to assume that traditional or old-fashioned home remedies are necessarily safe ways of treating infections.
